ERIC ED342463: Planning for Parent Participation in Schools for Young Children. ERIC Digest.

5 Pages·1991·0.1 MB·English

by  ERIC

ED342463 1991-00-00 Planning for
Parent Participation in Schools for
Young Children. ERIC Digest.
ERIC Development Team
www.eric.ed.gov
Table of Contents
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Planning for Parent Participation in Schools for Young Children. ERIC
Digest.
1
PLAN FOR PARENT PARTICIPATION 2
PLAN FOR MULTICULTURAL PARENT PARTICIPATION
CONCLUSION 4
FOR MORE INFORMATION 4
Digests
ERIC 01,0
ERIC Identifier: ED342463
Publication Date: 1991-00-00
Author: Coleman, Mick
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education Urbana IL.
Planning for Parent Participation in Schools for
Young Children. ERIC Digest.
THIS DIGEST WAS CREATED BY ERIC, THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC, CONTACT
ACCESS ERIC 1-800-LET-ERIC
Family and school represent the primary environments in which young children grow
and develop. Today, the link between these institutions is taking on added significance
as concern mounts over the challenges that preschools face in building or maintaining
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ERIC Digest.
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strong parent participation. In order to effectively meet the needs of all families, parent
participation programs need to give equal consideration to the needs of all families
represented in the class. Teachers can plan parent participation strategies for their own
classroom through use of the following guides.
PLAN FOR PARENT PARTICIPATION
1. A good place to begin is to document the barriers to parent involvement created by
such factors as family structures (dual career, single parent, teenage parent) and family
work schedules (full-time, job sharing, flex-time). This can be accomplished through
parent-teacher conferences, telephone calls, or a short questionnaire.
Documentation of the barriers to parent participation can be used to develop policies
that are likely to work with the parent community. For example, more options may be
needed as to when parent-teacher conferences are held (before, during, and after
school), how they are held (face-to-face, by telephone, by computer, in small groups), or
where they are held (at the school, in the home, at a neighborhood center, or at the
parent's place of employment).
2. Recommendations for parent participation should take into account the resources
and expertise of parents. Care should be taken to offer parents a range of support,
partnership, and leadership roles. Parents can participate by preparing classroom
materials, serving on a committee to select classroom equipment and materials, or
becoming a member of a search committee to select personnel. Participation can even
extend to parents' leading classroom activities in which they have expertise.
3. Teachers can include topics that relate to both classroom and family environments
when they develop informational newsletters, public relations material, and parent
meetings. Family strengths, parent-child communication, childhood stress, and in-home
safety all have the potential to affect children's classroom behavior. Of equal importance
is the effect of these topics on family well-being. Schools can meet their objectives and
serve the interests and needs of families by offering information and educational
programs that give parents practical suggestions on topics like these and others.
4. Plan ahead for parent-teacher conferences. Communicate to parents at the beginning
of the year about school policies and services. Inform parents about classroom goals for
the year, and give a few examples of what children will be learning. Also let parents
know about the frequency and nature of parent-teacher conferences. Once conferences
are set, keep a calendar of when, how, and where family contacts are to be made.
5. For some parents, education today is quite different from what they experienced two
or three decades ago. Fear of the unknown may be one reason that parents avoid
contact with their child's school. For other parents, school may be intimidating because
it reminds them of an unpleasant school experience. Empower parents with confidence
by supplying them with a list of questions they can ask teachers throughout the school
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year.
6. Create a comfortable conference environment in which parents feel free to share
information, ask questions, and make recommendations. Allowing parents to begin the
conference by asking their own questions and expressing their own concerns is one
way to convey respect for their input. Here are some other ways to share responsibility
with parents during the conference:
*Schedule an adequate amount of time for the conference so that the parent does not
feel rushed.
*If the conference is held at the school, point out to the parent the projects that involved
his or her child.
*Begin and end the conference by noting something positive about the child.
*Ask open-ended questions ("How do you help your child with her shyness?") instead of
"yes" or "no" questions ("Do you help your child with her shyness?").
*Communicate in a way that matches, yet shows respect for, the parent's background.
Be careful not to make assumptions about a parent's level of knowledge or
understanding, and avoid talking down to parents.
*Send nonverbal messages of respect and interest. Sit facing the parent and maintain
good eye-contact. Put aside paperwork and postpone taking notes until after the
conference has ended.
*Instead of offering advice, ask the parent to share feelings and suggestions for
addressing an issue. Then offer your own input as a basis for negotiation.
7. Limit the number of educational objectives set during the parent-teacher conference
to those that can reasonably be addressed in a specified time. Break each objective
down into simple steps. Assign parents and teachers responsibilities for meeting each
objective in the class and home. Plan a strategy for evaluating the objectives from both
the parents' and teacher's perspective.
8. Follow up the parent-teacher conference with a brief note thanking the parents for
their participation. This is also a good opportunity to summarize major points discussed
during the conference.
PLAN FOR MULTICULTURAL PARENT
PARTICIPATION
1. Seek advice and assistance from parents in introducing young children to various
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ERIC Digest.
www.eric.ed.gov ERIC Custom Transformations Team
cultures through the use of stories, holidays, art exhibits, fairs, plays, and other events.
Always include in any discussion of cultural differences the ways in which such values
as honesty, fairness, loyalty, and industry are shared by all cultures.
2. Avoid making sweeping generalizations about children from different family
backgrounds. For example, it has been suggested that a highly structured and
verbal-based curriculum is at odds with the nonverbal, people-oriented, and
individualistic values found in the cultural background of Black children (Hale-Benson,
1982). Modeling and imitation has been suggested as a big part of the learning process
for Hispanic children (Hadley, 1987). In contrast, it has been suggested that a structured
curriculum would perhaps be most appropriate for Vietnamese children who are taught
to value obedience and dependence (Bowman & Brady, 1982). It is unlikely that the
authors of these studies meant for their suggestions to hold for all children from Black,
Hispanic, or Vietnamese families. Balance general cultural differences with an
assessment of the individual child, and of the child's family and neighborhood
environments. Otherwise, sweeping generalizations about children may be based on
superficial group characteristics (for example, color of skin or language spoken) rather
than on individual strengths and needs.
3. Periodically review social networks among children. Do certain children segregate
themselves through their choice of toys, activities, or play? This issue is an important
one, because, as Karnes and her colleagues (1983) found, children from low-income
families who are placed in middle-class preschool programs can still be segregated
from their peers during classroom activities. Teachers can help all children share
classroom experiences by encouraging those children with similar interests to play
together or work together on a special project. Children's assignments to small group
activities can be periodically rotated to ensure that the children have many opportunities
to learn about and from all their classroom peers.
CONCLUSION
As American families continue to change, programs for young children will need to
adopt parent participation programs that reinforce a consistency of early growth and
development experiences between children's family and classroom environments.
Strong linkages between the school and the home can be ensured when teachers are
routinely allowed the time and resources to discuss the impact on school-home relations
of the diversity of family structures, backgrounds, and lifestyles found in their
classrooms; and develop a range of strategies by which they can involve all families of
the young children they teach.
This digest was adapted from the article, "Planning for the Changing Nature of Family
Life in Schools for Young Children," by Mick Coleman, which appeared in YOUNG
CHILDREN, Vol. 46, No. 4 (May, 1991): pp. 15-20.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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ERIC Digest.
ERIC Resource Center www.eric.ed.gov
Bowman, B., and Brady, E.H. (Eds.). "Today's Issues: Tomorrow's Possibilities." In S.
Hill and B.J. Barnes, YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES: NEEDS OF THE
NINETIES (pp. 207-217). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1982.
Hadley, N. "Reaching Migrant Preschoolers." CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE, Vol. 14
(1987): 19-20.
Hale-Benson, J. BLACK CHILDREN: THEIR ROOTS, CULTURE, AND LEARNING
STYLES (Rev. Ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1982.
Karnes, M.B., Shwedel, A.M., and Williams, M.B. "A Comparison of Five Approaches for
Educating Young Children from Low-Income Homes." In Consortium for Longitudinal
Studies (Ed.). AS THE TWIG IS BENT: LASTING EFFECTS OF PRESCHOOL
PROGRAMS (pp. 133-169). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1983.
Powell, Douglas R. FAMILIES AND EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS.
RESEARCH MONOGRAPHS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE
EDUCATION
OF YOUNG CHILDREN, Vol. 3. Washington, DC: NAEYC, 1989.
This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under OERI contract no. RI88062012.
The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies
of OERI or the Department of Education.
Title: Planning for Parent Participation in Schools for Young Children. ERIC Digest.
Document Type: Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs)
(071); Guides---Non-Classroom Use (055); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests
(Selected) in Full Text (073);
Target Audience: Teachers, Practitioners
Descriptors: Communication (Thought Transfer), Cultural Awareness, Family
Influence, Parent Materials, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, Parent
Teacher Conferences, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Preschool Education, Teacher
Role
Identifiers: ERIC Digests
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